Thursday, January 31, 2008

January 30 CSR Ski-In


In one of the craziest snow days of this or any other winter, 8 proud members of the CSR crew, including yours truly (far left) had an epic ski day at Stevens Pass. With 15" of new snow in the previous 12 hours (and over 3 feet in the last several days), there was light uncompressible powder everywhere you looked. With plenty of untracked snow and no lift lines, it was an amazing day.

After battling up Highway 2 in heavy snow, overcast skies were somewhat clearing when I got to the lodge. I hooked up with my friend Randy and we immediately headed to the backside of the mountain, where pretty much I found way too much snow for my liking. Managed to fake my way down a couple runs (thanks for your patience Randy!), and then headed to the front side where the groomed runs made things a little easier.

Conditions on the hill varied from no or very light snow with good visibility, to an absolute white-out. Temps were in the mid-20s and I was talking to a regular who said it hadn't gotten above 25 for the last couple weeks, making for pristine snow. Deep snow was everywhere and indeed the Cascades have just been hammered: Snoqualmie Pass has been closed for two days and now I hear that Steven has been closed for most of today.

No aches and pains either, even though my thighs were absolutely on fire at times yesterday. It was a very fun, but somewhat expensive day and I'm looking forward to going again.